A Lar by any other name

Fic: Farmers Hours

lar_laughs — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 06:52:20 GMT

Title: Farmers Hours
Fandom: Avengers MCU
Characters: Clint/Natasha, Darcy, Steve, Sam
Rating: Teen and Up
Word Count: 2637

Summary: Fury has had an endgame in mind for a long time. Just because he's never shared it with Clint doesn't mean he isn't a big part of it. Just because it involves a farm in the middle of America doesn't mean Clint can't enjoy himself.

A story I've had in my head since watching CA:TWS and seeing the necklace but no Clint.

Link to AO3

It's still the week of US Thanksgiving so this totally counts

lar_laughs — Sun, 30 Nov 2014 06:27:59 GMT

I am thankful for all of you that are reading this right now. You know who you are! You have eyes!

I'm thankful that I'm typing this with minimal pain. There's something going on with my wrist that I'm going back to the doctor for a follow up about in a couple of weeks. Right now, I'm wearing a brace that is driving me bonkers.

I'm thankful I have the money to pay for all these doctors visits I've had lately. Far more than the past 5 years combined, that's for sure! Ugh! Thought I had some sort of kidney problems but no. Lower back pain. The doctor manipulated me a bit and I haven't had much pain since. I think it was just hearing that it was something "okay" that gave me peace of mind.

I'm thankful for old fashioned notebooks. I wrote all of NaNo in several this year. Of course, I grossly miscalculated how much writing was on each page! I worked on a graphic novel this year and one page in screen play spacing equals 500 words so you have to write 100 pages. I thought one written page was only 200 words because I typed one up and it took up about 1/4 a page. Tonight, I typed up a new page only to discover that I'd ASSUMED that I was only taking up 1/4 a page but I was really ONE PAGE. ONE PAGE! So I'm at 67200 instead of 34250. Gah! But I'm so thankful I was bored and so decided to pull out the big computer!

I'm thankful for the Women of Marvel panel at NYCC for the push to write a graphic novel. Seriously, this thing is one of the best things I've ever written. It's a got a hook and everything! I'm working my way into the last battle but OH BOY I LOVE THIS STORY SO MUCH!

I'm thankful for a sister who's a nurse who will finally help me with ideas. I spent so many years not being able to ask her questions about medical things because "I was supposed to write what I knew" but she's moved past that and has put up with my questions lately. Seriously, any sister who doesn't laugh off, "So, do you think an iron lung could be form-fitting?" is a keeper.

I'm thankful for the month I got to spend with my other sister and my nephews. They are the light of my life. And so geeky! We bonded over Batman, happy bad guys versus sad bad guys, the few comic books I could get away sharing with them that passed my sister's muster (because they are only 3 & 4), and Legos. I pulled out my Story Cubes and we told stories to each other. We found new jokes (What did the janitor say when he came out of the closet? SUPPLIES!) and retold old ones over and over.

I'm thankful for my niece that will be born in February! And for the fact that I can afford to go visit them after her birth. And that I've been given permission to dress her up like Captain Marvel to my heart's content!

I'm thankful that both Stargate Atlantis and some of America's Next Top Model are free on Amazon Prime Streaming. Both shows make me happy for different, and wonderful, reasons.

I'm thankful for yarn and getting to have a room dedicated to it.

I'm still thankful for you. Because you made it to the end of the list.

Wednesday ramblings

lar_laughs — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 03:16:24 GMT

It was dentist day. Not the good kind of visit, either. The kind where I'm tense the entire time, waiting for the drill to bring unbearable pain. I had to be numbed once with a shot (to which my sister raised her eyebrow at my apparent nonchalance because the sister she thinks she knows doesn't talk about shots with so little drama) and a couple times with numbing cream. Fun. All in all, I'm a little more artificial and less original than I was this morning.

I've decided I want to read one banned book a year. I don't know why I decided this other than to know what all the fuss is about. I'm not a regular fiction sort of reader so I'm definitely keeping it to one a year. It's kind of amazing what books have been put on the banned book list, though. I should be okay for awhile. This year, I can read The Fault in Our Stars since that was recently banned and it's the one John Green book I haven't read.

My schedule at work has changed and I now have Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays off. It makes for some long days (especially Friday which is my alone day, as well) but it's been really rewarding, so far. With my nephews and sister here from Florida, I've been able to spend some quality time with them outside of "let's hurry and do something because it's the weekend" that I normally get. I'm hoping to turn some of the time off into super productive time in November and December. Yarn Tribbles is having another fundraiser in a few weeks so I'm working on several projects for that but I hope to start writing more after that. I don't have any promised products so maybe I can make it stick this time!

Found on The Mary Sue

lar_laughs — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:43:23 GMT

Hawkeye is now aware of the Hawkeye Initiative

That is all.

Fun!

lar_laughs — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 19:31:16 GMT

I'm going to tell you the highlights of my time at New York Comic Con.
First, the two bits of important stuff that I want to make sure my FL list sees.

1)
These are varient covers coming up in February. Take a look at the third one. That would be Clint and... Natasha wearing a Hawkeye shirt. Yeah. That's exactly the sound that I made in the packed room.

2) I thought I had a picture of the slide but I can't find it now. Marvel has announced it's going to do a MarvelYA line of books. The first is a Black Widow book by Margaret Stohl. Here's an article I found about it. This makes me sort of ridiculously happy for a lot of reasons.

Other highlights include:
-being in the same room as George Clooney and getting to see a lot of scenes from Big Hero 6 and Tomorrowland.

-being in the same room with Stephen Amell and listening to some really insightful questions from his fans on Arrow, both past and present. By far, the best fan questions of any of the panels we went to.

-getting quite a few free books, including the first reprint of the Kate Daniel book by Ilona Andrews and having it signed by both husband and wife, including a written apology for spelling my name wrong.

-meeting Gabriel Rodriguez and telling him how much I thoroughly enjoyed Locke & Key and then finding out that Aster bought the first trade book and had him sign it for me.

-eating really good convention center food! So surprising!

-hanging out in The Mary Sue lounge with some really funny and nice people. As one guy put it when I said that I was going to tell people all about making friendship bracelets at Comic Con, "Are you making friendship bracelets... or friends." That made me smile because he was right. I was making friends. We hung out there several times throughout the weekend.

-seeing so many really cool Kate Bishop and Peggy Carter cosplays! So many!

-watching a ridiculously cute Clark Greg and getting to see the newest AoS and some scenes from Agent Carter.

-being a continent away from New York City. Too big, too crowded and too many people!

Fall TV goodness

lar_laughs — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 20:38:27 GMT

Okay, life is almost back to normal! ALMOST! Less than a week until I'll be home and back into my routine! Hooray!

But let's talk about TV! I need someone to talk about things with!

Do you have any thoughts on Agents of SHIELD, Scorpions, TBBT or Orphan Black (I'm not completely caught up on that one yet)? Any new shows that you really like that you want to gush about? I have a DVR full to bursting with good stuff that I need to watch still!

One thing ticked off the bucket list

lar_laughs — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 19:06:07 GMT

OH! So much happened while I wasn't on LJ that I haven't shared the best bit!

Next month, I'm headed to New York for NEW YORK COMIC CON!!!! Aster and I (and maybe her kidlet, if she can get out of school) are going to be spending four fabulous days in the Big Apple!!!

And you know who will be at NYCC????

That's right.

Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick!!!!!

I'm going to take along one of my Hawkeye messenger bags (I really need to put up a picture here... must remember to do that) to give to MF and I'm trying to work up something Captain Marvel-ish for KSD. Stalkings allowed at Comic Con, right?

The weekend after NYCC is Idaho's very first Comic Con so I'm going to be conned out! But happy! Guess who I'll get to see there? Nicholas Brendon and Mark Sheppard! Not bad, Tree City. Not bad, at all.

It's September. How did that happen?

lar_laughs — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 18:56:47 GMT

What a summer. It's almost over, right? I thought I'd get a lot of writing done this summer but I didn't. Not hardly any at all. Instead, I got a lot of crocheting done as I watched a lot of movies. Why, you may ask, did I not do any writing? Because I didn't have a lot of access to the internet.

BAH! I say. BAH!

I took an extended housesitting job on a farm. My sole responsibilities were to keep the cats and dogs fed and happy, feed the chickens and pick up their eggs, and make sure that the plants inside the house didn't die. I've done great with all of those (although the story of how Lar learned how to move brooding chickens is pretty funny, I'm not going to lie to you) but I'm ready for my time to be DONE so I can get back to my regular schedule. Chickens get up REALLY EARLY.

The thing that makes me the most cranky? The internet isn't that great. It's barely good enough to stream movies onto my Kindle. I never could get the TV to work. Getting my laptop to keep a good enough signal to run LJ? Never happened. I got Facebook to work on my phone but I've used A LOT of data this summer that I've never touched before!

A couple of weeks ago, my schedule at work changed (because I changed it) and now I have Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday off so I've been spending those weekdays off back at my parent's house with the nifty swift internet and a facsimile of my previous life. I also have access to my mom's iPad so I can Facetime with my nephews which makes me all kinds of happy. I miss them SOOOO much. The distance between Idaho (where I am) and Florida (where they are) is far greater than I want it to be. When Willie asks me why I'm not at his house to play with him, I just want to weep. Today's big revelation? They have "netflakes" now so they can watch Autobots. Auntie could only talk for a short time so they could get back to that goodness.

The summer of crocheting wasn't all that bad, though. Beth and I had a booth at our local county fair but mostly we've been getting ready for our Fall St. Baldricks fundraiser. We've played around with having a booth at other gatherings but haven't made that leap quite yet, mostly because it takes A LOT of product to do anything major.

I've been playing around with the idea of going back to school for coding. I read an article in Geek magazine about how there aren't enough debuggers to keep up with all the coding that gets put into the cloud on any given day and that's a problem. I've been looking into it and I think I'd be fabulous at debugging. Since I started this quest a little late to get into any classes this fall, I've been playing around with some of the tutorials online, just to get started learning all the languages. I started with Code Academy but I wasn't very happy with their teaching layout. I've been doing the Java tutorials on Khan Academy since I'm already signed up there. I think I'm learning something helpful. It's always hard to tell. Working in Java always makes me think of LJ because I've played around with the coding for the background here a bit. I thought I'd drop in today and see what sorts of things I could learn by just puttering around in the coding. Here goes nothing...

Bits and Bobs and WHOO BOY

lar_laughs — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 04:36:48 GMT

What? Write Camp NaNo things because you're on vacation and you have TIME to be writing. And you had a decent idea and mapped it out and did work on it before hand and you still can't be bothered?

And then you finally got to go see Captain America, probably only because your sister, who is the only one who knows the way to the movie theater in this city of trees and highways, wanted to go see Divergent for the third time? And you came home at 10pm and pulled out your laptop? And now you have to go to bed because your nephews get up early and you're two hours ahead of your own schedule as it is?

And you come up with this WIP?????? AND YOU NEED TO GO BACK BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU MISSED IMPORTANT STUFF!!?!?!!!?????

“What's her name?” Clint asked, smoothing a hand over the hood of the car Natasha had just driven up to a stop in front of his building. She could tell he was trying so valiantly to hold in his derision at the make, model and - yes, let's be honest - color that she had to laugh. When he narrowed his eyes at her, she only smirked. “Just a question.”

“You’re so predictable. Most cars don’t have names.”

“For your information, all cars have names. It’s the ignorant owners that don’t take the time to find them out that are the problem with this country.”

He’d taken his hand off the hood, trying to distance himself from the object. She’d seen him do it often enough that she didn’t need to ask him if he liked it or not. It didn’t take a rocket scientist or, for that matter, any other sort to know that Clint disliked the car she’d picked out for just tootling around the city. It was black, for one. It wasn’t twenty years old, for the next. There was probably a longer list but that didn’t matter. She hadn’t gotten this particular car with him in mind. He was never going to get to drive in.

“It’s a loaner,” she assured him. “Sitwell’s letting me borrow it for a couple of days. Maggie will never have to know that you dared look at another.”

“Only looked,” he hastened to add, as if his car really might get jealous of this intruder. “You planning on staying for awhile?”

“I’m here for the evening. Is that going to be a problem?”

She watching Clint carefully through her lashes, wondering if his “roommate” was going to be around or not. While she and Kate Bishop had met on a few instances, they hadn’t exactly been the sort of moments where people grew into fast friends. They had an uneasy truce, the two of them. Kate silently promised not to let Clint get too hurt physically and Natasha had given her word, out loud, that she wouldn’t break Clint’s heart too badly.

This was one of those times that Natasha really hoped the young girl wasn’t around because she couldn’t actually promise more than a few hours. Their meetings had been so few and far between that Natasha wasn’t sure if she could call herself more than a one-night stand, stopping by for a good time before heading back to work.

The raw hurt on Clint’s face was enough to make her close her eyes. “I can leave,” she whispered, wishing she could make more time for the man she considered her best friend. Her only friend, really. They couldn’t promise each other more than that, as much as she sometimes wished she could.

“Don’t.”

She felt the keys slip from her fingers but she didn’t dare look up until he put a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Why don’t you let me take you somewhere nice, Tasha? I’m pretty sure I can handle a car like this. We won’t tell Maggie. It’ll be fine.”

“But-” she started to protest before he silenced her with a deep kiss. When he let her up for air, she sagged against him, enjoying the fact that he didn’t mind the theatrics. “Fine. Somewhere nice it is. Just so you know, I don’t mind BedStuy.”

“Yeah, but the people here get intimidated when they see a flashy car like this and a pretty girl hanging on my arm. They’ll think I’m dealing drugs and I don’t really want to get all the attention. I’ve already gotten more than my fair share, thank you very much.”

“Stark come knocking?”

“You just can’t say no to the guy when he has a jet overhead, ready to whoosh you off to places unknown for fun and frivolity. I only remember half of that weekend.” He massaged his jaw, pushing and pulling it as if testing it out. “And none of that half was any fun.”

Natasha laughed but only because she’d been fortunate enough to be able to turn Stark down on the last few missions he’d begged her help with. Working with Stark was about as much fun as working with him, which is why she’d kept her SHIELD gear after Clint had decided to turn his in and go Avengering full time.

Those kind of logistics made theirs a long distance relationship, if there ever was one. Add to that a precocious teenager and a lifetime of secrets to run from. It made for awkward first moments whenever they did find the time to be together.

Clint didn’t hold a grudge for long, though. As they zipped through the streets of New York, on their way to some upper crust part of town that had a tall hotel they could climb a few times until the first rays of dawn pushed her back toward DC, Natasha unrolled her window and stuck out her hand, letting the wind current take it up and down a few times.

“You still logging in enough hours in the sky to keep your license current?”

He looked at her over his darkened glasses and she wondered, not for the first time, just how much those things accentuated his already keen eyesight. “You need extraction?”

“Always good to keep my options open.”

“Isn’t that your tagline for most everything?”

She wondered if there was rancor behind the statement but she hadn’t heard any. Or, better yet, he hadn’t let her hear any. With a sigh, she pushed away from the moment and struggled to get her mind back to neutral territory. Better not to pull more sensitive subjects up to the surface of this relatively calm they were having.

Fic: Exactly (4.13 Journey's End)

lar_laughs — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 17:17:08 GMT

I'm spending Christmas Day watching the Doctor Who marathon (we've already had Christmas when my sister could be here so this isn't really the holiday day for me, just a day off!) and drabbling ideas and feelings.

Title: Exactly
Episode: 4.13 Journey's End

She remembers him. From time to time, a flicker of a memory gets through and she can remember what it felt like to travel through time and space with her best friend. It’s at the most random of moments, none of them very specific, and none of the memories are very stable. Here for a bit and then gone like mist in the wake of the sun.

They do leave behind the heaviest weight on her heart. Not even the strongest of antidepressants can take away that ache. She’s tried to explain herself to a number of different doctors and counselors but there’s nothing to explain. There are times she is completely happy and carefree and then there are the other times. Deep, dark chasms of pain that make her smile and weep, at the same time.

“Who is the person you think of in those dark moments?” they ask.

“Exactly,” she replies.

In for a penny, in for a pound

lar_laughs — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 04:52:23 GMT

I went quiet for a bit because I need to 1)concentrate on original story for NaNo (and beyond) and 2)spend a lot of time crocheting the projects I have promised to people. Neither is very compatible with spending time on LJ or anywhere else on the internet.

I've started stalking again but I'm taking stock of what I want and need from the internet. My friends here are very important to me and I've missed my interactions here! Yarn has become very important to me but I know that it isn't to you so I've made up a new LJ for more personal and yarn based entries so that I can leave this journal for fandom sort so things. I want/need to get back to writing fanfic and that will go here.

It's completely up to you but if you'd like to befriend my other journal, it's writing_yarns and it'll be more focused on my original stories and photos/patterns of things I'm creating.

Ideas?

lar_laughs — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 03:50:37 GMT

Does anyone know of any long-term volunteer opportunities that come with room and board? I'm looking for anywhere in the world, at this point.

This entry was cross posted at dreamwidth - where the cool kids hang out.

...now we're staring down truth...

lar_laughs — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 04:12:29 GMT

I'm going to have to give up one of the Bangs because I haven't written this last week, at all. Since I've written the most in the DC Bang (Arrow story), I'm going to continue on with that one. I had to take out a chunk of story tonight because it wasn't working with where the story's going. Over 2000 words! Ouch!

I have 10 days until the rough draft has to be turned in. Anyone want to read over what I have written so far to see what else I need to finesse now that the scene's gone. I'm wondering if there's dangling ideas still there. Nothing more than content.

It's Oliver/Felicity with a healthy dose of Felicity&Diggle friendship. It's very much rated PG-13 and won't get much higher unless I suddenly find a portion of my writing mind that has other ideas.

Anyone?

Things are looking up

lar_laughs — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 20:46:55 GMT

I read in our local news that the Beaver Creek fire made BBC news! Now all my international friends can see my little valley!

We did have to laugh. My sister said that MSNBC had a star over where the fire was... but it was in Oklahoma. Um, no. Wrong Beaver Creek. I'm sure there are a lot of them around!

Fire containment is up to 9% and they think they have a "handle" on it. Here's hoping! I'm really not looking forward to going to work on Monday with all the smoke. We haven't gotten as much of it here where I live outside the valley as they have in it.

I am going to try to fill the rest of my weekend with writing, something I've been incapable of doing lately. The house is pretty quiet except for me and Gramma (we brought her over to our house to get her away from the smoke although her house should be fine) because the rest of my family is either 1) leaving for their own homes, 2) on their way to fight the fires or 3) going to a wedding. I'll leave you to figure out who is doing what. *grins*

Per wishes from several of you, I will have a run down of the Kindle Fire soon.

My life right now

lar_laughs — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 21:45:28 GMT

Haven't been on very much lately. Family is in town and we've spent the last three days putting on a vacation bible school at our church and now the valley where I work is being evacuated because the fire is creeping down a smaller valley and threatening to spill out into the big one.

This is what the town of Hailey looks like today.

That smoke is coming from the smaller valley. While the fire is not in the main valley, it is coming and heading straight for our three-year old hospital building. In this picture, I work up a block and a block to the right. Can I tell you just how thankful that I am to have planned on taking the last three days off? My chest feels tight and I reach for my inhaler just looking at this picture!

A sight that is seen a lot in ranch country - a burned fence line.

This is near where my dad was fighting the fire.

Some pictures from around the area.

This is picture of the fire lines as of today. Boise is at the left side of the screen and the Wood River Valley is at the right (comprised of the towns Bellevue, Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley). Beaver Creek is the fire to the right and is the number one priority in the nation right now. McCann and Pony Complex grew together and are the big red blotches over to the right. They're about 80% contained right now which is wonderful! Although there are four areas of red, there are actually ten "fires" altogether that started about the same time on the 11th when a storm front came in with a lot of lightning and little rain.

My dad hasn't been on the fire since Tuesday night. Wanna know why? Because the incidence commander in the valley has decided to be a five-year old when it comes to the fire. Heaven help anyone who wants to get in the way of him getting any glory for putting out the fire. The Carey fire crew isn't the only group being shafted. They're playing favorites right now. And homes are burning because of it. I woke up early this morning and it was in my brain and I just got more and more angry about it. It almost kept me from going back to sleep.

Right now, I'm pretty sleep deprived even without worrying about the fire. I'm not gonna lie to you... it's my own fault. Can't seem to turn off the new toy! But it's turned me into a bear to be around. I need extra "get away from me" time just to recover from the morning's activities at VBS. Yesterday, I hopped in my car and made the hour trip south to Twin Falls to do some retail therapy. That helped! Not my wallet contents but my state of mind!

2013 fire season is upon us

lar_laughs — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 07:51:24 GMT

Boise, the capital of Idaho, is about 2.5 hours away from my house. 2 hours, if you're my sister. Right now there are four fires burning between here and there. 250,000 acres have burned. 200 head of cattle have been lost. Numerous outbuildings (meaning no one lives in them) have burned. Crews from all over the country have been dispatched to help out. The largest of the fired now ranks third on the list of the governments priority. My dad went out with a crew from our area yesterday and we may see him again on Wednesday. He said he spent today putting out spot fires in a field of cows. Holding the line! I said a prayer for him and the others every time I saw a plume of smoke.

Amazon boxes are made of love

lar_laughs — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 04:26:01 GMT

Things in my boxes from Amazon:

Yarn - it's so pretty! Very lightweight and I'm not sure what I'm going to make with it but I love the variegated pattern and all the colors incorporated!

Elfhome by Wen Spencer - Book Three! I've had this in my Maybe This Time list for the longest time! I think I have a good excuse now to reread the other two!

Heart of Iron by Bec McMaster - Book Two! I'm excited to see what else I'll discover about this Steampunk World!

Hansel & Gretal: Witch Hunters (Unrated Cut) - I couldn't resist.

Hawkeye: Little Hits - I made the mistake of turning to the last page. I'm a little overcome by emotion because I knew about one of the exits but not the other! *wails* Such a good excuse to nab the new issue of Young Avengers, though. Anyone have an icon of Kate near the last page where she's standing outside the door, her head down? I WANT.

Oh, why look... there's a Kindle Fire HD in this box. My KINDLE FIRE HD IS HERE!!!! I've set it up and given it a name. The first Kindle was named Carbon (I was doing variations of colors then) so I decided to go with CINDER. A very good name for a Fire, I think. Nabbed a couple of games for me and the nephews. Made sure there were enough books downloaded on it. I'm thinking I'll set up the audiobooks on Carbon since she's still in fine working condition. Better, I should point out, than my friend's Nook that is a full year and a half younger! And I use mine more!

I've got so much to look forward to!

I'm a meme-lamb! Hear me baaa!

lar_laughs — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 04:31:23 GMT

Gacked from redbrunja because I have a thing about #9.

Send me one of the following numbers + a ship* and i’ll whip up a drabble for you about any of the following:

1: Hot, Steamy kiss
2: Cheek Kiss
3: Nose Kiss
4: Forehead Kiss
5: Firm Kiss
6: Gentle Peck
7: Romantic Kiss
8: Eyelid Kiss
9: Jawline Kiss
10: Neck Kiss
11: Collarbone Kiss
12: Chest Kiss
13: Stomach Kiss
14: Kiss Along the Hips
15: Kiss in the Rain
16: Upside-Down Kiss
17: Goofy Kiss
18: Underwater Kiss
19: Forceful Kiss
20: Any of the Above
21: A Kiss with a Fist
22:Then there’s tongue
23: The most intimate kiss of all aka cunninglingus

TV_universe Shark Week challenge

lar_laughs — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 04:15:08 GMT

Title: Even the Sharks Have to Queue at Comic Con

Synopsis: Five best friends head to San Diego Comic Con. It's been awhile since they've had any fun (college was so long ago!) but they're ready to get their geek on. Their first afternoon in town, they decide to check out the beaches. No sooner do they have their sunscreen smoothed in and sunglasses firmly in place but the screams start. Sharks are jumping out of the water and attacking EVERYONE! They only have their laminated badges and geek smarts to get out of this horror that San Diego has become. Will Comic Con be saved?

Hayden, The Quirky One: Kat Denning

(I know it's a thousand degrees right now in Southern California but this is my favorite hat. Okay?)

Riley, The Computer Guru: Catrina Scorsone

(The hotel has free Wi-Fi, right? I suppose it doesn't matter. I'll find a signal somewhere in this town.)

Norrine, The Dedicated Cosplayer: Constance Zimmer

(Where did I put my ears? Has anyone seen my ears? Quit laughing. Seriously, are you hiding my ears again?)

Drue, The Gamer: Alexz Johnson

(The next person that asks me for ID is going to get this a punch for each birthday candle I had to blow out last year.)

Maddie, The Adult: Jamie Ray Newman

(I'm only here for the chance to get George Takei's autograph to complete my Original Star Trek collection. If one of you gets trampled by the crazy fan girls over in Hall H, you get yourself to the hospital.)

Marvel Bang Idea

lar_laughs — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 03:34:31 GMT

I'm reading along and I come across this sentence: You need some ballast in you.

My eyes opened wide. It's still 24 days until Marvel Big Bang stories are due and I'm still floundering with what to write. I mean, I had something to write but that idea, while still valid, has floundered after about 3000 words.

But this is the backbone of an idea that has been batting around in my head for a few weeks. Ballast is exactly what I've been looking for.

bal·last noun \ˈba-ləst\

Definition of BALLAST

1
: a heavy substance placed in such a way as to improve stability and control (as of the draft of a ship or the buoyancy of a balloon or submarine)
2
: something that gives stability (as in character or conduct)
3
: gravel or broken stone laid in a railroad bed or used in making concrete
4
: a device used to provide the starting voltage or to stabilize the current in a circuit (as of a fluorescent lamp)

Okay, the idea came about because of Sara Bareilles' new album, The Blessed Unrest. Have you heard it? Here's my story... all mapped out.

Eden
Walking in the garden was a serpent-shaped heart and he told me
That what is broken cannot show, and less than beautiful is worse than unholy
Idolized my innocence, stole it from me in the end
Now I'm wide awakened and still paying for the poison they sold me

Islands
You always dirty up the windows
If you keep 'em at bay that way no one's gonna surprise you by getting too close
Anybody but me though
You've made exceptions to you rules
And now we're staring down truth neither one of us wants to know

Chasing the Sun
There's a history through her
Sent to us as a gift from the future, to show us the proof
More than that, it's to dare us to move
And to open our eyes and to learn from the sky
From a cemetery in the center of Queens

Hercules
I miss the days my mind would just rest quiet
My imagination hadn't turned on me yet
I used to let my words wax poetic
But it melted a puddle at my feet now
It is a calcifying crime, it's tragic
I've turned to petrified past life baggage
I want to disappear and just start over
So here we are

And I'll breathe again...

Cause I have sent for a warrior
From on my knees, make me a Hercules
I was meant to be a warrior please
Make me a Hercules

Satellite Call
This is so you'll know the sound
Of someone who loves you from the ground
Tonight you're not alone at all
This is me sending out my satellite call

Cassiopeia
All alone in a corner of the night sky
Spiral bones of a supernova starlight
Fell in love with another burning bright
She dreamed of a way to ignite she said

Tonight
Come on, come on collide
Break me to pieces I
I think you're just like heaven
Why, come on, come on collide
Let's see what a fire feels like
I bet it's just like heaven

Manhattan
You can have Manhattan
I’ll settle for the beach
And sunsets facing westward
With sand beneath my feet
I’ll wish this away
Just missing the days
When I was one half of two
You can have Manhattan
Cause I can’t have you

December
Distill a whole year down into a day
Act like we all start over with a pristine slate
But to get yourself a new life you've got to give the other one away
And I'm starting to believe in the power of a name
Cause it can't be a mistake if I just call it change

1000 Times
Cause I would die to make you mine
Bleed me dry each and every time
I don't mind, no I don't mind it
I would come back 1000 times

You can make me wait forever
Push me away and tell me never
I don't mind, no I don't mind it
I would come back 1000 times

Incidentally, if this gives you ideas, please take what you need. This is full of ideas that I won't necessarily be using!

Sale Fail

lar_laughs — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 03:14:36 GMT

Amazon sent me an email - two days ago - reminding me that they sell the Kindle Fire HD. I swear to you, that was all it was about. Everything on the email was the normal price.

Today, on Facebook, a friend offered to sell me the one she'd gotten for her husband a couple of years ago. Since she wasn't sure what generation it was, I went to Amazon to check the specs.

The freakin' Kindle Fire HD is on sale! A better sale than it was on just a few weeks ago!

Now, I know that it's on sale because the new generation will be out any day but I decided I don't care! It will be arriving on Wednesday!

Still, Amazon, I think you'd sell more if your email had the sale info!

Right now, my biggest problem is what to name her and what sticker I will put on the black cover that will wrap around her in rest.

Podcast of delight

lar_laughs — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 18:44:05 GMT

All sorts of people that I follow on AO3 are writing Welcome to Nightvale fic and it is KILLING ME WITH DELIGHT. It all seems to be Carlos but I want to write about the angels! I'm going to have a lot of downtime away from the computer tonight (staying at a house with no internet) so maybe I'll get more caught up with the series (I'm still only on 10 or 11) and come up with a fic idea. Stories and pics on Tumblr! What more could a fangirl want!

Arrows and Bullseyes

lar_laughs — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:36:46 GMT

I've settled on a layout for the Hawkeye afghan. At least I have on paper. We'll see if I settle on that when it all comes down to putting stuff together. Now that I'm looking at some of the first squares I made, I'm thinking of redoing them. I don't like the way I was adding on. It looks... tacky. So I'm redoing some of the worst ones.

I think I've decided what I want to do with the afghan when I've finished it. More on that later. Keep reading...

I think I want to start a community. No. I know I want to start a community. I've been thinking about it for a few weeks now. No running into this without thinking about it. I want to make it a Fraction!verse themed community. Clint and Kate are givens but then there are all the people that are directly related to the comic. Like the Young Avengers and the Avengers, themselves. With an emphasis on F!V, of course.

It's not made yet. It's only just in my head right now. When it does get made, there will be a Grand Opening Celebration. During the time period, everything that is posted at the community will be eligible in a raffle for the afghan. Beth's kind of taken with the idea and she's proposed giving me an arrow necklace and earring set as a prize, as well.

Why am I telling you? Because I'm excited. Because I want you to know. Because I can't think of a good name for the community. Because I'm not sure how to run something on LJ and Tumblr at the same time. Because I want to give all of you a heads up since I like you so much. Because I'm wondering if anyone else wants to help in some way. Because I can.

Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, rock star

lar_laughs — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:11:12 GMT

I've got another post window open but then I saw this and had to share RIGHT NOW!

How did I miss this?

Why do they have to end?

lar_laughs — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 06:00:04 GMT

I'm very sad! I just finished the last episode of Eureka! Still only have that one idea for fanfic... which surprises me considering how much I liked it. Maybe I'll have to watch it again.

While I'll be starting on Fringe next, I'm taking a break with some Catherine Tate Show. Just a little bit of laughter at the end of the night. Or, at this point, the beginning of the morning.